"Crufts prize pair kept dogs in filth"

Once again, the showing community have been let down by people who clearly don't care a jot about their dogs. The following is part of an article from the newspaper today:-

"A Crufts-winning mother and daughter kept 104 pet dogs in appalling and shocking squalor inside their tiny terraced home. Champion owners **** and ***** crammed dogs into filthy cages with no lighting, bedding or fresh water, a court was told.
Other dogs were injured or diseased and left in their own mess.
Officials who raided the house in Bradford found the animals were so neglected that 24 had to be destroyed. The pair pleaded guilty to 23 animal welfare offences at Bradford Crown Court.
Their show dogs, including Yorkshire Terriers and a dachshund have won awards every year at Crufts."

It makes me totally sickened to think that people like this are applauded in the show world - what on earth can be done to stop it happening again? Nothing I suspect, because what indication is there when a dog is paraded around Crufts, or any other show, that at home the conditions are beyond belief for all the other dogs.

Yes I think exactly the same when I see supposed "pet" people doing the same!

The same applies to children at school who are abused at home I am afraid, people do not have a crystal ball, they do not go to their homes so how would they know?

I quite agree with both of you, and I feel just as angry when either of your scenarios make the papers when they are found out. It's a horrible world sometimes

However, my point is that this sort of thing rebounds on the showing world's reputation whether you like it or not.

Just another example of the 'turning a blind eye' syndrone that IMO is one of the worst of human behaviours, and then, when they are found out for their lies and double standards they stand up in court and plead all kinds of mitigating circumstances and the juriy nearly always believe them. Makes me mad to be part of the human race.

So do I take it that you believe that people KNEW about this but ignored it?

Because you can only turn a blind eye of course if you had KNOWLEDGE, whereas if you get FOUND OUT you have not been discovered....................

I am not quite sure why you are being so defensive about this Surely the point of this thread is that Crufts are trying to rebuild their rather tarnished reputation, and this sort of thing does it no good at all. I believe, as in many cases of child abuse, dog abuse, even murder - other people would have been aware of what was going on in this particular grim house. This couple were not recluses.

Presumably someone eventually blew the whistle on them, but why did it take so long? The dog world needs to be more willing to weed these people out at the earliest possible opportunity.

Not being defensive at all, and I am not sure why Crufts is coming into the argument.

Crufts is only ONE show and to qualify for this show all dogs have to have done just that, won or been placed in certain classes at Championship Shows. What about the reputation of THOSE shows.

As for knowing what was going on in their house, what makes you think that anyone SHOULD know? Do you know if they have visitors?

Lots of people never have people in whether they have dogs or not!

And we are ALL part of the "Dog World" whether you show or not.

My views would be the same if you replaced the word dog with child.

The facts are that some dogs owners were prosecuted for animal welfare. The fact that they were show goers is immaterial.

It does not make the offences any worse or any better than if they were pet dogs, agility dogs, field trial dogs etc.

You accused the show world of applauding such people, that is not a correct statement; they were not applauded for their crimes; we do not even know if anyone in the show world KNEW what was going on.

I really hate sensationalism which smacks of the "red tops". Just stick to the facts.

This sort of prosecution rebounds on the DOG OWNING world, whether you like it or not, the same way as DOG FIGHTING does, and DOG ATTACKS do, and people who do not clear up after their dogs.

Let us not demonise a particular section of dog owners, as this is not exclusive to them but to ALL.

I have stuck to the facts actually....also, Crufts comes into it because this couple's dogs have regularly won classes there.

I will leave this thread alone now, because you are clearly spoiling for an argument which I have no intention of joining.

Disgusting that any dogs are kept in those conditions

THere are good and bad in everything so I dont think the show world can be blamed - if individuals knew about this then it is bad they didnt do something about it sooner but I am sure the majority didnt know this

It does make me think tho about the advice people give people looking for a puppy - or looking to breed a puppy. Great prestige is given to people who are doing well at crufts
and of course there will be some fantastic breeders who do well at crufts
but this really goes to show that there can also be people who are worse than puppy farmers too

and before I get jumped on I know there will be just as bad people in the sports world, the working world and the pet world

I think in the past crufts type people were up on a high pedestal where people thought of them as almost gods of the dog world
Now after the tv show it has gone to far the other way

I think the balance needs to be redressed, the showing world is not better and it is not worse than everyone else - its just people, some good, some bad